Obesity, diabetes, heart disease… maybe even Alzheimer’s. Could these modern scourges have a common denominator? Some people believe they do: sugar.

But is this accusation warranted? We talk with a journalist who has spent two decades reporting on nutrition science, and while he says there’s still not definitive proof that sugar makes us sick, he can make a strong case for it.

Also, how a half-century ago the sugar industry secretly paid Harvard scientists to shift the culprit for heart disease from their product to dietary fat. We hear how the companies borrowed from the playbook of Big Tobacco.

So is your sweet tooth a threat to your health?

Guests:

Segments:
Part 1: Gary Taubes / Sugar Epidemic
Part 2: Gary Taubes / Fat Misdiagnosis
Part 3: Cristin Kearns / Sugar Politics
Part 4: Naomi Oreskes / Confection Confusion

Descripción en español
 

Podcast also available on PocketCasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and RSS.

2026 Webby Award Nominee
for our three part series on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Big Picture Science is an immersive radio show and podcast that reveals the unexpected connections in science.

Our Skeptic Check episodes take a critical look at extraordinary science claims and pseudoscience.

Don’t settle for a science snapshot. Get the big picture. 

Hosted By

Molly Bentley Executive Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science  

Seth Shostak Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science
Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute

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